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Nobel Lecture

Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Dilute Gas; The First 70 Years and Some Recent Experiments

Eric A. Cornell held his Nobel Lecture December 8, 2001, at Aula Magna, Stockholm University. He was presented by Professor Mats Jonson, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics.

Summary: Fundamental ideas behind creating Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a gas are outlined. Starting with Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the formation of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is explained as occurring when the interatomic spacing is comparable to thermal de Broglie wavelength. The conditions for creating BEC in a gas are described, and the necessary ingredients for creating BEC in a gas are listed in an "Ultra Cold Alkali Tool Kit".